Pumpkin Pie Martini Cocktail – Best Ever

Simply the best Pumpkin Pie Martini Cocktail and ideal for holiday entertaining. Your guests will rave!

A Holiday Favorite:Pumpkin Pie Martini Cocktail

Back in November 2012, I was inspired to create my own version of the Pumpkin Pie Martini after indulging in the Pumpkin Martini by Scotty’s Brewhouse here in Indy. Since I just adore pumpkin anything, I splurged and veered off my diet to partake in this seasonal cocktail to welcome autumn and the winter holidays.

Over the summer and the early fall months, I was on a special diet (no dairy, grains or sugar) to overcome a terrible infection. It was extremely tough, but I managed and even continued to recipe develop. So, the Pumpkin Martini at Scotty’s was a real treat. According to Scotty’s cocktail menu, their version consists of whipped cream vodka, pumpkin spice liqueur, Frangelico®, half & half cream, a graham cracker sugar rim and a caramel marbled martini glass. What caught my eye was that Scotty’s used one of my all-time favorite liqueurs, Frangelico® Hazelnut Liqueur, which I thought was pure genius for this special holiday cocktail.

For my version of the Pumpkin Pie Martini, I knew right away that I would be using bourbon—and, not just any ol’ bourbon, but my favorite, Blanton’s® Original Single Barrel Bourbon. (Confession: Ever since living in Lexington, KY early in my marriage due to The Big Lug’s project there, and falling in love with Blanton’s, I am always finding ways to incorporate bourbon into my baking, cooking and cocktail recipes. Hey, the girl can’t help it!) To make the cocktail especially creamy and flavorful like classic pumpkin pie, I opted to include both Bailey’s® Irish Cream and half & half cream. Suddenly, the concoction started to form in my mind. I could already taste it…creamy, spicy pumpkin pie in a cocktail glass. Dreamy.

The next step was to incorporate sweetened pumpkin purée with spices typically found in traditional pumpkin pie. Wearing my baker’s hat, I immediately considered creating simple syrup made with brown sugar and infused with spices to whisk into the pumpkin purée. Surprisingly, the simple syrup/purée came together rather easily. Aiming for 8 ounces of the simple syrup/purée made sense to me—thus, making it worth the effort to prepare in advance while also making it easy to calculate for larger batches to serve a crowd. As for how much of the pumpkin spice simple syrup/purée to use per cocktail, 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) worked perfectly. The recipe yields enough pumpkin spice simple syrup/purée to make eight (8) Pumpkin Pie Martini Cocktails.

The Big Lug and I enjoy making these Pumpkin Pie Martinis over the holiday season. Honest and truly, this cocktail is like sipping pumpkin pie from a martini glass. And, if you enjoy spiked eggnog—especially with bourbon, this Pumpkin Pie Martini will send you over the moon! Your guests will feel pampered when you serve this distinctive top-shelf cocktail—Pumpkin Pie Martini with Blanton’s® Bourbon.

Description

What makes our Pumpkin Pie Martini wicked good? In our recipe, we use a fine-quality bourbon with Blanton’s® Original Single Barrel Bourbon, Frangelico® Hazelnut Liqueur for an autumnal nutty flavor and rich Bailey’s® Irish Cream as well as a perfectly spiced pumpkin simple syrup/purée to create an exceptional Pumpkin Pie Martini. It’s like pumpkin pie in a martini glass. Do you enjoy spiked eggnog like Colonel Blanton did? If so, this Pumpkin Pie Martini will send you over the moon!

Ingredients

For the Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup/Purée

½ cup canned or homemade pumpkin purée

½ cup purified water

¼ cup organic cane sugar

¼ cup organic light brown cane sugar

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

⅛ teaspoon ground allspice

⅛ teaspoon ground cloves

Pinch freshly ground nutmeg

Dash pure vanilla extract

For the Optional Rim Garnish

½ cup turbinado raw sugar

½ ounce Frangelico® Hazelnut Liqueur

For the Cocktail

Ice for cocktail shaker

2 ounces Blanton’s® Original Single Barrel Bourbon

2 ounces Frangelico® Hazelnut Liqueur

1½ ounces Bailey’s® Irish Cream

1 ounce half & half cream

1 ounce (2 tablespoons) Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup/Purée

Freshly ground nutmeg, for cocktail garnish

Special Equipment

Cocktail shaker

Chilled martini glass

Rimmed shallow plates for rim garnish, optional

Directions

Prepare the Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup/Purée: In a medium saucepan, combine pumpkin purée, water, sugars and spices. Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook stirring often to dissolve sugars. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool completely. Recipe can be prepared in advance. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Prepare the Rim Garnish: Place turbinado raw sugar into a rimmed shallow plate. Pour Frangelico into a rimmed shallow plate. Dip rim of martini glass into the plate with the liqueur, then immediately dip into the plate with the sugar.

Recipe Notes

Tips: The Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup/Purée can be made 1 day in advance. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Variations: Recipe can be prepared with fine-quality rum in lieu of bourbon. Also, the Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup/Purée can be made with all brown sugar (light or dark brown sugar or muscovado) for richer molasses flavor and darker color.

Variation Suggestion: We like the El Dorado 15 Year Old Rum which is a blend of Demerara rums ranging in age from 15 years to 25 years. The rums are aged in oak casks and then blended by the master blender to achieve a consistent flavor. El Dorado 15 has received numerous awards over the years including several gold medals.

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About Stacy

Stacy Bryce is a recipe developer and member of the IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals). Her passion is developing original conventional baking recipes as well as special diet recipes to include dairy-free, gluten-free and grain-free. You can follow Stacy at Pinterest.

Thank you, B! Oh, I hope you will try my recipe. Definitely let me know your thoughts. It may be late in the season for pumpkin recipes, but this one could last thru Valentine’s Day, like gingerbread, in my baking and spice-loving mind at least, LOL! I say “give it a whirl” and enjoy! Meanwhile, I hope you are feeling better. 🙂 xoxo

Congrats on getting your blog up and running in 2012 despite some challenges. I like the retro look–a lot of fun. BTW, thanks for putting kitchenlane on the blogs you enjoy visiting list–much appreciated.

Thank you, Nancy, for stopping by and sharing such kind words about my blog and its design. I’m glad you think it is fun. Your words are greatly appreciated and mean so very much to me coming from you. It is my pleasure to include your Kitchenlane in my blogroll. Meanwhile, thank YOU for continuing to share your wealth of experience in the food writing and recipe development world. I treasure every word of sage advice and wisdom shared. And, I will not forget your warmth and kindnesses extended to “the new girl on the block” in the food blog world. xoxo ~Stacy

I haven’ had much time lately to get around to the blogs but, I’m glad I forced myself tonight. I’ve been meaning to get around to yours because we are officially gfcfsf over here now. If I still lived in Chicago I swear to you I would come your house so you could teach me how to make this drink!
The site looks fantastic. You will never get rid of me! I just signed up for the emails 😉

Thank you for dropping by, Nikki! It is always good to hear from you. Seriously, I wish we lived closer too! As my recipe database grows (to include plenty of Paleo recipes, my type of diet & treats!), I hope you will drop by since you are a gfcfsf family. Thanks again! xoxo

This was so disappointing….I was so wanting to drink this cocktail from the looks of your beautifully photographed drink….but a MARTINI ??????? No way. With hazelnut liqueur, bourbon, Kahlua and a rum rim this is not a martini. The GLASS is definitely a martini glass but there is not one drop of gin or vodka. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to taste this, but, is it a martini???? No, no, no. You should have called it Pumpkin Pie Cocktail – Best Ever, served in a martini glass.

Welcome to My Kitchen

My name is Stacy. I'm a recipe developer, food writer, baker and member of the IACP. I love to concoct tasty baked creations to share with others—both traditional and gluten-free. Welcome to my Wicked Good Kitchen!